History of the College

The Sisters of our Lady of the Missions (RNDM Sisters) established Sacred Heart College Sorrento in 1967 to expand the capabilities of Sacred Heart Girls' School in Highgate. Over the next 20 years, significant changes occurred which helped form the current face of the College. The first came in 1977 when the College became co-educational. This was followed with the appointment in 1985 of the first lay Principal. Whilst the change in leadership was effected, the Sisters remained directly responsible for the day-to-day management of the College. This arrangement remained until 1989 when the Sisters withdrew and Sacred Heart College became part of the Diocesan System of Schools managed by the Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia. At the end of 1998, the doors of the boarding complex closed for the last time. It was the end of one era and the beginning of another.

The Sacred Heart College of today has changed significantly since its inception. There has been an extensive building and rebuilding program as the College increased in size to the point where it currently caters to some 1400 students. The College has expanded its facilities to support the four pillars: Spiritual, Academic, Sporting and Cultural. The RNDM Performing Arts Centre, named in honour of our founders, seats 560 persons in a professional theatre and is probably the best school theatre in Western Australia.

In September 2016 the College opened ‘The Koort Centre’, a state of the art gymnasium which, apart from Health and Physical Education classes and activities, can accommodate the Sacred Heart community for whole school Masses and assemblies. The gymnasium was named to acknowledge the Nyungar people, the original custodians of our land.